Atherosclerosis XIII [antikvár]

PrefaceOn behalf of the Xlllth International Symposium on Atherosclerosis (ISA) organizing committee, the International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS) and the Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS), we are pleased to publish this book, the Proceedings of the Xlllth ISA. We would like to thank all participants, speakers and presenters who attended the Xlllth ISA in Kyoto from September 28 to October 2, 2003. In spite of the sudden epidemic of SARS in the world, approximately 3000 researchers from more than 60 countries attended this symposium. We also appreciate the great support of many sponsors. As a representative of the Asia/Pacific region, we were very proud to be hosting the first ISA symposium of the 21st century. We hoped to summarize the scientific and technological achievements in the field of atherosclerosis during the 20th century and to look ahead to our potential for fiiture progress and development in this new millennium. Our research topics encompassed all aspects of atherosclerosis, including epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and prevention as well as its treatment. We are convinced that all participants to this triennial conference were satisfied and encouraged by its contents.This symposium highlighted the recent advances in the research of vascular biology, angiogenesis and atherogenesis, the importance of multiple risk factor clustering and the mechanism of metabolic syndrome. The mechanism of plaque rupture as a cause of acute coronary syndrome and the recent development of methods for non-invasive and invasive diagnosis of atherosclerosis were extensively discussed. Furthermore, we held sessions about how translational research can contribute to the field of atherosclerosis; how lifestyle is correlated to the incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases; and how newly discovered drugs such as statins can be used for clinical applications in addition to their effectiveness. We also shed light into the features of atherosclerosis in the Asia/Pacific region in comparison to those of other populations and discussed, along global standards and guidelines, the prevention of atherosclerosis with consideration to regional and ethnic backgrounds.Moreover, we took this opportunity to support the many talented young scientists fi-om the Asia/Pacific region with an educational grant from JAS. The Executive Committee is indebted to the Young Investigator Award Committee, led by Dr. John Chapman, for its hard and skillful work in selecting 11 awardees out of 399 applicants. The Young Investigator Award was granted to the 11 scientists for their outstanding research achievement and scientific merit in the poster presentation.We hope you found some time to enjoy the city of Kyoto. This international city was once the ancient capital of Japan for over 1000 years. Today, its past is represented by temples, shrines and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along with the wonderful ancient0531-5131/ 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V doi; 10.1016/j.ics.2004.01.002